Naver and Kakao -- the two major South Korean tech companies -- have recently provided "bonuses," such as stock options and shares, to their employees amid record-breaking performances
  
Annual sales of Naver -- South Korea's top internet portal operator -- and Kakao -- the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, KakaoTalk -- both jumped to all-time highs of 5.3 trillion won ($4.8 billion) and 4.15 trillion won, respectively, in 2020.

The two tech firms have been cited as front-runners among contact-free beneficiaries in the COVID-19 pandemic as more people stayed at home and avoided face-to-face contact, leading to increased content usage.
  
In an apparent move to reward stellar performance and build loyalty among employees, Kakao decided to hand out 10 shares of treasury stocks to all employees for the first time.
  
A total of 2,619 employees will receive a bonus of treasury stocks worth 4.55 million won per person, amounting to 11.9 billion won in total, Kakao said.
  
Earlier, Naver also announced it will distribute bonus payments to 90 board members, which amount to 8,820 shares worth 3.1 billion won.
  
Separately, Naver adopted a system in February 2019 to provide stock options worth 10 million won for all employees every year.
  
The shares that the company provides as bonus payments do not have any restriction, meaning that the shareholders can always sell them for cash. (Yonhap)